Mindful messages

“You’re getting too big for your boots”

“Don’t get ideas above your station”

“Don’t rock the boat”

As a kid I heard these words from well-meaning adults time and time again. I’m sure you have your own that you can add to the list (please do! you can put them in the comments and we’ll burn them afterwards).

I mean really they’re just generic sentences that pop out of our mouths, handed down by generations before us. They’re meant caringly, as a way of making sure we stay part of the tribe and don’t speak our minds or change too radically.

They probably go back to that fear based part of our brain, to our cave man days where if we did get too confident or independent there was a very strong chance we wouldn’t survive.

But the trouble with these sentences, especially when you hear them as a kid, is that they become an inherent part of you. My own inner mean girl loves these words. She whispers them to me whenever I venture out of my comfort zone, when I open to possibility (like when I declare to the world I'm a life coach for example), when I decide to go all in with my big dreams. Being considered selfish or big headed have been big worries of mine until recently. (Even writing that now seems absurd).

Where would we be if we listened to these messages? Who would we be? There would certainly be no Prince, no Freddie Mercury, no Angelina Jolie, no Steve Jobs, no Nelson Mandela (the list is long and I'm sure you get the point).

My loves, it’s time to stop listening to these messages. Let’s set a new, expansive tone by being mindful about the messages we tell ourselves and others. Let's leave our constrictive, limiting beliefs and negative self talk. Let’s unfold our wings, let’s live the best way we can and above all, let's be each others biggest cheerleaders. There's enough room for us all.

No more fear mongering. Let’s fly.